Halting the spread of coconut rhinoceros beetles was top of mind for the Maui County Council as it dissected the fledgling county Department of Agriculture’s proposed budget for next fiscal year at a hearing Wednesday.

Council members were eager to figure out what role the department would play in the fight against the palm tree-killing beetle that was discovered in Maui County last year, and why it needed $300,000 to do the work.

The extra funding is part of the department’s proposed budget of $9.5 million for fiscal year 2025, which starts July 1. The council is going through budget requests department by department in the coming weeks as it reviews Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed $1.7 billion county budget.

Council members were concerned there might be some overlap or the funding would be duplicative, considering the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Maui Invasive Species Committee are working on the issue.

But the department is intended to be “the third line of defense” in the fight against coconut rhinoceros beetles, Maui Agriculture Director Kali Arce told council members. The department would focus its funding on education and outreach, while also supporting the HDOA and MISC.

Arce said she wanted to manage expectations so was “wary of using the word eradication” but was committed to tackling the problem. Eradication efforts lasted about a decade on Oahu before the pest spread to Kauai, Maui and Big Island in 2023.

“We hear the state talking about ‘eradication to management.’ It’s not a roadmap I want to follow,” MDOA Deputy Director Koa Hewahewa said.

The MDOA launched the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Working Group at the end of last year over concern that the beetles would decimate native palms and cultural plants and threaten the county’s food security.

Invasive species, particularly axis deer, have plagued the county for years.

“That $300,000 is really a small drop in the bucket for what it will take to educate our community,” Hewahewa said.

The remaining $4.1 million in MDOA’s additional budget requests would cover grants, subsidies and support for local agricultural producers. Arce said MDOA aimed to attract about $4 million in grants for local agriculture, mostly from the federal government.

MDOA’s requests also include funding for vehicles and mowers for the county-owned Kula Agricultural Park and general operating costs.

Maui County Councilman Gabe Johnson asked whether the department was scoping the island for other potential agricultural parks. He introduced a bill last year that successfully increased the Kula park’s footprint with 225 acres of land dedicated to organic farming.

“No. We have our hands full,” Arce said. “That’s not to say it’s off our radar. We understand the need to have ag parks.”

The department was officially formed in 2022 after the county voted in favor of its creation in 2020, becoming Hawaii’s first and only county-level agriculture department.

The department was created to help and advocate for agricultural producers, born out of concerns over food security and an overreliance on tourism.

A five-year strategic plan has been under development since the department’s inception.

The foundational plan, for 2024 through 2028, focuses on boosting residents’ food security, following responsible agricultural practices and increasing economic opportunities within the sector. 

MDOA aims to increase the value of Maui’s agriculture to $123.3 million by 2028, according to the plan.

The value of agricultural products sold in 2022 was $93.3 million, according to the USDA’s Census of Agriculture profile of Maui County released in late March.

“Hawaii Grown” is funded in part by grants from the Stupski Foundation, Ulupono Fund at the Hawaii Community Foundation and the Frost Family Foundation.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.

Civil Beat’s coverage of environmental issues on Maui is supported by grants from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and the Hawaii Wildfires Recovery Fund, the Knight Foundation and the Doris Duke Foundation.